Barcelona relegated; Xavi seems disappointed

Two goals by the Williams brothers in extra time, one by Iñaki in the 105th minute and the other by Nica in the 120th minute, brought Athletic Club victory against FC Barcelona (4-2) and placed the team from Bilbao in the semifinals of the Spanish Copa del Rey.

The eldest Williams, who had arrived in Bilbao just hours before to play Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, first upset the balance in a lively quarter-final match, with his brother Nico putting an end to the final game.

Before Gorka Guruuzet gave the hosts the lead (m.1), Robert Lewandowski (m.26) and Lamin Yamal (m.32) converted before the break and Oihan Sancet (m.49) made it 2-2 which caused overtime.

For his part, the coach of FC Barcelona, ​​Xavi Hernández, admitted after the elimination in the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup, after the defeat in extra time against Athletic Club, that he leaves San Mamés “disappointed” because he lost the possibility of winning the title, but also “proud” of his players , especially the youngest ones.

“We are proud of how these players competed against a great team and a great coach like Ernesto Valverde, but we are also disappointed with the result which was not better. We have a short and very young team and I think that is the start of something important, be it the coach or no. I think this Barça has a future,” explained the coach of the Barça team.

Xavi, on the other hand, assumed that “if at the end of the season we are not at the expected level of competitiveness, “the normal thing is that I have to leave, like all coaches”.

“I know where I am and they will ask me for titles or at least compete for them. Today we competed against the great Athletic. When you don’t win, the coach stands out, I’m not revealing anything,” Xavi said, before insisting that “there is a very good project” in the Barcelona club.

“Not in the sense of me as a coach, but of a very good generation. There is a very good potential that in the coming years Barcelona can compete, but we have to work and we have to win. Now it’s time to focus on the league and the champions when it’s our turn,” he admitted is.